Unprecedented Programme of Fixtures Announced for Tier Two Unions

Posted on Sep 19, 2012

The International Rugby Board has launched the unprecedented IRB International Rugby Series that will see an extensive programme of competitive matches for Tier Two and Three nations during the November 2012 window.

The matches, which feature 12 IRB Strategic Investment Unions are in addition to the Tier One v Tier Two fixtures within the international tours and test schedule approved by the IRB Council in 2010.

Following Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand, many of the teams are now going through a period of rebuilding with several new players and coaches coming into the squads as they look towards RWC 2015 in England.

Russia, USA, Samoa, Canada, Tonga, Fiji, Romania, Japan, Uruguay, Portugal, Georgia and Chile will all be in action with the three Pacific Island teams facing up against top level opposition.

The announcement further underlines the IRB’s commitment to an expanded annual calendar for Tier Two teams and builds on similar schedules in place during previous seasons. One of the highlights of this busy programme of international fixtures will take place in Colwyn Bay, Wales, with a mini tournament being played over two match days with some mouth-watering fixtures arranged, including Russia v USA and Samoa v Canada.

Other highlights include England v Fiji in London, Wales v Samoa in Cardiff, Canada v Maori All Blacks in Oxford, France v Samoa in Paris, Scotland v Tonga in Aberdeen and Uruguay v Portugal in Montevideo.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "This is an exciting development for the global Game. The IRB is committed to facilitating an annual international competition schedule for our Tier Two Unions and these matches will be crucial to ensuring that there is increased competitiveness on the global stage and at Rugby World Cup 2015.

"There will be an unprecedented number of international fixtures across Europe in November, which will give sports fans a taste of what to expect in 2015 when England hosts the world’s top 20 nations for Rugby World Cup."

IRB Head of Development and Performance Mark Egan said: "The November fixtures will play a significant role in the continued development of those Unions that have been identified for high performance support as part of our annual GBP10million Strategic Investment Programme. With an eye on Rugby World Cup 2015, coaches will be looking to assess their players in a competitive test match environment and the IRB will have the opportunity to benchmark the progress of the top ranked Tier Two Unions against both each other and in the case of the Pacific Island Unions, against Tier One opposition.”

“The November Tier Two test match programme compliments our portfolio of stand-alone strategic investment tournaments in June such as the Pacific Nations Cup, Nations Cup and the Americas Rugby Championship, which takes place in Canada in October. We are particularly excited about the double-header IRB International Rugby Series matches which will take place in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, on November 9 and 17 and the historic first-time visits of Japan and Fiji to Georgia.”

London Welsh further strengthen pack with double international signing

Posted on Aug 9, 2012

London Welsh have added some muscle to their pack ahead of the club’s first-ever assault on the Aviva Premiership with the signings of Romanian prop Paulica Ion and Russian second row Kirill Kulemin.

Tighthead prop Ion, 29, who has been capped 51 times by Romania, joins Welsh on a season long loan from London Irish, where he’s gained a wealth of Premiership and European experience during his three seasons at Sunbury.

Ion joined Irish from Bath in 2009 with his debut coming at Twickenham in the London Double Header against Saracens. He’s gone on to make 64 appearances for Irish, scoring one try.

He made his international debut against Argentina at the 2003 Rugby World Cup and has also featured at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups.

Capped 18 times by Russia, Kulemin joins London Welsh from Castres after four seasons at the French Top 14 club.

The 31-year-old had previously spent four years at Agen, with whom he played Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup rugby, before joining Castres in 2008, where he gained further European experience.

Kulemin began his playing career in rugby league with Dynamo Moscow, who in 2003/04 became the first Russian club to compete in the English Rugby League Cup.

His international rugby union debut came in 2006 against Portugal and he helped Russia qualify for last year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

“They are two fine signings who will help our squad to perform to its maximum,” said London Welsh head coach Lyn Jones.

“They are boys with lots of experience at the highest level in the English and French leagues and can bring the best out of other players.”

Moscow mission for Wales Women

Posted on Jun 26, 2012

The Wales women’s Sevens team competing in this weekend’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Moscow enter the event buoyed by recent performances.

Wales have literally come a long way in a short time in their attempt to qualify for next year’s Rugby World Cup to be held in Moscow.

Rhys Edwards’ side progressed serenely to this weekend’s final World Cup qualifier by destroying the opposition in Bulgaria to secure one of the last four spots remaining.

Wales went unbeaten, amassing a staggering 333 points, to join the 12 European teams with established sides and seedings who had already qualified for this weekend’s event (namely England, Spain, Netherlands, Russia, France, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Moldova, Ukraine and Switzerland.)

Despite their relative inexperience at his level, Edwards is confident his fledgling side can cause a few headaches against their more established opponents.

“A top eight finish is a realistic target,” he said. “From there we could possibly aim for the Plate which would give us a top five finish.

“However we are four years behind the Top 12 nations in respect of playing Sevens but we will be one of the fittest teams out there and we have found some girls we wouldn’t normally have come across.

“The Sevens programme is going to be a huge stepping stone for the players in terms of their core skills development back into XVs and this is also an opportunity to develop belief in their own ability.”

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London Welsh sign former Welsh international

Posted on Apr 24, 2012

London Welsh have announced the signing of former Wales centre Sonny Parker for next season.

The 34-year-old made 31 appearances for Wales, scoring six tries, and was part of the side which won the Grand Slam in 2008. He was also selected for Wales’ Rugby World Cup squads in 2003 and 2007.

Parker made his international debut at Wrexham against Romania in November 2002 and a year later was running out at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

He was a try scorer in Wales’ heroic pool stage defeat to New Zealand, but picked up an injury in the act of scoring which ruled him out of the World Cup quarter-final with England.

The following year he was in the side which lost 26-25 to the All Blacks at the Millennium Stadium, but did help Wales to a thrilling two-point win over Australia in Cardiff in 2005.

In 2008 he started in Wales’ 26-19 victory over England at Twickenham on their way to a second Grand Slam in three years.

Parker joins the Exiles from the Ospreys where he’s made 157 appearances, including 29 tries, since joining them in 2004.

He has since helped the Ospreys to three Celtic/Magners League titles and to victory over Leicester Tigers in the 2008 EDF Energy Cup final at Twickenham.

Parker also brings a wealth of Heineken Cup experience with him to Old Deer Park. He scored 16 tries in 61 European Cup appearances and helped the Ospreys reach three consecutive quarter-finals between 2008-10.

Joining London Welsh will see Parker once again team up with his former coach at the Ospreys, Lyn Jones.

Commenting on joining London Welsh Sonny Parker said: “I know how good a coach Lyn is and what style of rugby he wants to play, and that was one of the major factors behind my decision to join the club. I also get on very well with him.

“I don’t commit myself to anything unless I can do it 100 per cent. I want to play games and I want to win games for London Welsh.

“It’s also fresh start for me in London. I want to play some good rugby and hopefully I’ll enjoy my time at the club.”

London Welsh head coach Lyn Jones said: “Sonny was a very good international player and is still an excellent rugby player.

“We’re delighted to have him on board for next season – he’ll give us an attacking edge whether that’s in the Championship or the Premiership.

“It’s a signing that illustrates the ambition of the club and we look forward to strengthening our ties with Wales and the WRU in the future.”

Born in Thames, New Zealand, Parker played for the Auckland Marist club and gained international recognition with the New Zealand Maori Colts. He joined Pontypridd in 1999 before moving on to the Celtic Warriors.

IRB anti-doping campaign success ~ 54 offenders netted in 2010: up 86% on 2009

Posted on Mar 5, 2012

The International Rugby Board has underscored its continued commitment to the fight against doping in Rugby by undertaking a record programme of testing and education during 2011.

With Rugby continuing to break new markets with global exposure and participation at unprecedented levels, the Game’s governing body undertook 1,714 tests (587 In Competition and 1,127 Out of Competition) across Fifteens and Sevens in every continent during a year that also saw a record blood testing programme at the flagship Rugby World Cup. The testing programme operated across Rugby World Cup 2011 (989 tests), Rugby Sevens (489 tests), Age Grade (138 tests), other IRB Fifteens tournaments (58) and regional championships (40 tests).

Despite the rigorous testing programme, there were eight Anti-Doping rule violations in 2011. That amounts to 0.46 per cent of the total testing programme. Four violations were for stimulants (Methylhexaneamine found in nutritional supplements), two were for anabolic agents (Testosterone), one for a diuretic (Probenicid) and one for a narcotic (Oxycodone) used for pain relief. There were no positive results recorded in Sevens.

The extensive testing regime was supported by the IRB’s Outreach and Keep Rugby Clean education programmes, which are run in partnership with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), with the first-ever dedicated Rugby World Cup Keep Rugby Clean Day held during New Zealand 2011.

Commenting on the record programme, IRB Anti-Doping Manager Tim Ricketts said: "The IRB and its Member Unions are committed to the fight against doping in sport."

"This record IRB testing programme, combined with over 4,000 controls administered in 2011 by our Member Unions and their respective National Anti-Doping Organisations as well as a dedicated education programme, underlines our collaborative commitment to this critical area of the Game."

"While Rugby continues to be at the forefront in the fight against doping in sport, we have a collective responsibility to ensure that our players, physicians and administrators have access to the very best educational framework."

"This includes the education around the dangers of failing to check nutritional supplements and medications thoroughly and awareness around recreational drugs and support mechanisms. All of the violations that were recorded in 2011 could have been avoided if players and their physicians had checked the ingredients of the products against the WADA Prohibited List prior to taking them."

The IRB focused on increased educational programmes in 2011, including the delivery of Keep Rugby Clean awareness campaigns at Rugby World Cup 2011 and IRB Age Grade and Sevens events delivered to over 1,000 players during the year.

The key to player education resource is the IRB’s interactive Anti-Doping website www.keeprugbyclean.com, designed to inform the global Rugby community on all aspects of Anti-Doping.

The year also saw Argentina star and Rugby World Cup 2007 Bronze medallist Felipe Contepomi appointed to the WADA Athlete Committee. Contepomi is one of seven IRB Keep Rugby Clean Ambassadors representing men’s and women’s Fifteens and Sevens.

Editors notes:

Total global programme per year (including Union and NADO tests)

2005: 4,053 tests, 48 violations
2006: 4,782 tests, 36 violations
2007: 4,127 tests, 34 violations
2008: 5,023 tests, 54 violations
2009: 5,725 tests, 29 violations
2010: 5,618 tests, 54 violations
2011: available June 2012